What's Up?

Q: Where does Blue Ridge water stand from the Forest Service's point of view? Has the town of Payson contacted the Forest Service? Would Pine and Strawberry be eligible for any of the Blue Ridge water?

A: The Forest Service sees Blue Ridge water as a "win-win situation" according to District Ranger Ed Armenta, of the Payson Ranger District. "We fully support getting that water here," he said. "We think that is the biggest part of the puzzle for solving the water issue here. It is a supply that is assured and consistent." The two viable options are: the water comes down the established road right away in a pipeline or the water is dumped into the East Verde River.

"We have not received a formal application or any sort of formal correspondence (from the Town of Payson) regarding Blue Ridge," Armenta said. "We have received a letter expressing interest in purchasing some land under the town site act for a water treatment plant. We see that as needed and something that we would support."

Pine and Strawberry might get some of the water, but Armenta said he is not sure what the agreements would be. 500 acre-feet of water are allowed for communities other than Payson.

Q: I understand the film "Brokeback Mountain" will not be shown in Payson because it is too controversial. Is this true?

A: "No," said Craig Triphahn, general manager for Sawmill Theatre in Payson. "Brokeback Mountain" is a limited release print. Focus Entertainment is the film company. It is not a real large company so they do not have a lot of prints available (for theaters to rent) making it really difficult for Payson to get prints. Harkins Theaters (or some of the bigger theaters in the Valley) are going to get first choice on these prints."

According to Triphahn, "Brokeback Mountain" is not the only film that Sawmill is unable to rent because of this. "Capote" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" were two others. Film distributors can require that a theater show their film for a certain number of weeks. First run movies are generally two weeks, but can be longer. "We do our best to get copies of these films, but there are some we just can't bring up here," he said.

Q: While Game and Fish has jurisdiction over hunters within town limits, would the town of Payson's insurance company cover the injury to someone, by a bore head arrow for instance, hitting someone at the park?

A: "Our insurance company would not cover that," said Town Manager Fred Carpenter. "The liability would be on whoever shot the arrow. If (one private citizen) accidentally hurts another private citizen in the park, this would be the same kind of situation." Shooting guns is illegal in the parks because of the proximity to residences. Hunting season is over now, so anyone out there shooting could be arrested for poaching. There is an ordinance on the Council's Feb. 23 agenda that would ban archery hunting within the town limits.

Q: How long do letters to the editor take to appear in the paper?

A: That depends on the volume of letters, which is high at certain times of the year, such as during election campaigns. We try to run the letters in the order they are received. Some letters take longer to verify and others are submitted beyond the 400-word limit and must be sent back to be shortened. Readers are reminded to include a phone number with every submission.